Welcome to Week 4! It’s hard to believe, but you are halfway through the course already. Time flies when we are having fun!

This week will be a busy week for you as you work on your midterm project and weekly discussion. Your midterm project is one that will take some time as you will create a SWOT analysis and a focus group for a prestigious hotel chain in your area. This project should be a great learning experience and you should find that you have a stronger understanding of quality management upon completion of this work. Do not procrastinate on this project! By doing so, you might find yourself rushed an unable to provide the project you had intended for. You will also have a discussion to complete this week that I know you will find beneficial in your course learning overall.

You will be responsible for reading Chapter 5 this week along with the article “Behind the Search for Audit Quality Indicators.” You will have the opportunity to learn about quality systems and auditing this week which are important factors in the quality management process.

Sample Questions

This week’s practice questions are as follows:

An example(s) of generic types of audits include(s) _________________________.

Policy audit Practice audit Product audit All of the above None of the above Answer: 4

Audits, based upon the identity of the auditor and auditee, are characterized as ______________.

First-party audit Second-party audit Third-party audit All of the above None of the above Answer: 4

Audit client’s responsibilities include _____________________.

Initiating the audit, defining reference standards and receiving the audit report Appointing a responsible person to accompany the auditor Cooperating with the auditors All of the above None of the above Answer: 1

An auditee’s responsibilities include __________________________.

Providing access to facilities and evidential material requested by the auditor Complying with applicable audit standards Reporting the audit reports All of the above None of the above Answer: 1

Auditor responsibilities include ________________________.

Complying with applicable audit standards Clarifying and articulating the audit objective Reporting the audit results All of the above None of the above Answer: 4

Once you have completed your reading for the week, be sure to complete the course discussion and the written assignment. Remember to participate among your classmates on the discussion forum. Remember that the more you participate, the stronger your learning experience will be. I look forward to working with you on the forum and obtaining your written work this week.

W4 Lecture 2 “Quality Systems” Quality Management Quality Systems

You should now have a solid understanding of what it takes to provide a quality product or service to your consumers. This week, you will learn about what it takes to implement a quality system into your workplace to ensure that your company meets quality standards which will lead to continued success. It is important to remember that “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and that there will be a number of factors that lead to the company’s overall success.

There are many factors that play into the success of a quality system for an organization. Techniques, tools, documentation, etc. are all factors that create the system. Let’s not forget that people play an important role in this system too! You may be wondering if there are established systems out there that can be used within your organization. The answer to that question is YES! ISO 9000, Six Sigma, and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award are just a few examples of these systems. You will find that what you learn this week will be quite essential.

Quality Management System

What is a quality management system? A quality management system includes four fundamental activities (Sower, 2011): planning, performance, measurement, and improvement. Planning is the step in which a plan for quality is determined and created. This part of the system will determine who is responsible for what within the organization and will also determine who the customer is and what their needs may be. The performance step determines how the activities should be executed throughout the process. Strict and detailed documentation should be kept to facilitate measurement of performance overall. The measurement process is where results will be compared to standards. Audits, inspections, and evaluations are key factors of this step of the process.

Improvement is the final step in the system. Improvement will provide a consistent evaluation of the product or service to determine where problems may occur and how they can be eliminated. Aside from the steps that have been created within the system, it is important to create a manual that will provide your employees the information necessary to understand what the processes are, what procedures are approved to be used, and what documents are necessary to ensure quality.

Quality Audits

An important part of the quality system is to ensure that quality audits are conducted. Quality audits are defined as an inspection and examination of the process or quality system to ensure compliance to the requirements (Sower, 2011). An audit may apply to specific steps within the process or to the organization overall. A quality audit is systematic and should be reviewed to ensure that compliance meets the necessary standards. You will find that audits, though often time consuming, can ensure continued quality and success throughout the organization. This will, in turn, generate long-term success.

There are three types of audits that can be found within the workplace: policy audits, practice audits, and product audits. A policy audit will compare a written policy or procedure against quality standards. A practice audit will compare current practices against established procedures to ensure that they match. And a product audit will evaluate the performance of a product against quality specifications and standards.

In addition to the types of audits, there are three methods in which an audit can be conducted: first-party audit, second-party audit, and a third-party audit. A first-party audit is typically performed internally. This means that the auditor and auditee work within the same organization. These audits are conducted to ensure that standards are being met. A second-party audit is typically external where the organization in which you work for is the auditor and you are auditing another organization (which may be a supplier you work closely with). And a third-party audit is an external audit where a third-party is brought in to conduct the audit without bias.

Documentation

Once audits have been conducted, it is important that documentation is contained for record keeping. This is an essential part of the quality management system. As you have surely heard, history repeats itself and it is important to keep important records to look back on when an error has occurred or information is needed. Information systems are designed to help a company house these important records. These systems maintain data on processes, products, customers, suppliers, etc. Having a successful information system in place will allow an organization the ability to research prior information as well as obtain current policies and procedures. An information system is also a beneficial way to generate and provide information to those within the organization through use of email, websites, etc.

Chapter 5 will provide you with the information necessary to understand audits and system design within the workplace. You will learn about the systems that are available for organizational use and the tools necessary to make these systems work. Your main objective in finishing the weekly learning is to examine the basic elements of the major quality management systems. Upon completing your chapter reading, be sure to review the supplemental materials that are found in your learning material.

This week you have learned about that various quality management systems that are available to the workplace. ISO 9000, Six Sigma, and QS 9000 are just a few examples of quality management systems that can be used. Considering your knowledge of the various programs, what program do you feel would be most essential within your workplace? If you already have a quality management system in place, do you feel that the program is the right fit? If you are not currently employed, you may use a previous employer or a fictional company.

Your initial response should be a minimum of 150 words. Your work should be in your own words and should include research to support your response. Be sure to avoid Wikipedia as a resource as this is not a reliable source. Include your resources at the end of your response. Once you have completed your response, you will want to respond to at least two (2) of your classmates responses. Please remember that your responses to your classmates should be substantive and should promote additional discussion within the classroom. Simple “I agree” responses will not be counted towards your participation grade.